Qatar: FIFA should set aside $440m for World Cup workers compensation fund
FIFA should set aside at least $440 million for the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who have suffered human rights abuses in Qatar during preparations for this year’s World Cup…
However, the total sum for reimbursing unpaid wages, the extortionate recruitment fees paid by hundreds of thousands of workers, and compensation for injuries and deaths could end up being higher and should be evaluated as part of a participatory process with unions, civil society organisations, the International Labour Organisation and others.
In an open letter accompanying its report, Amnesty and a coalition of human rights organisations, unions and fan groups urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to work with Qatar to establish a comprehensive remediation programme. As well as providing compensation for all labour abuses related to hosting the tournament in Qatar, FIFA should ensure that abuses are not repeated, both in Qatar and in future tournaments.
In its 62-page report - Preventable and Predictable: Why FIFA and Qatar should remedy abuses behind the 2022 World Cup - Amnesty is calling on FIFA and Qatar to set up a programme with the full participation of workers, trade unions, the International Labour Organisation and civil society...
“Thousands of migrant workers have been exploited and many have tragically died to make this World Cup possible, so we hope the FA and Gareth Southgate and the players will back this innovative scheme to secure much-needed compensation for long-suffering workers’ families."Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO on the FA's role